I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, write me on Facebook or just email at paultassi(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm also almost finished with my sci-fi novel series, The Earthborn Trilogy.

Did the Real Mass Effect 3 Ending Go Over Everyone's Heads?

Mass Effect 3 has been derided since its release as having an unsatisfying and spectacularly bad finale that has disappointed fans of the otherwise phenomenal series. But now a new conspiracy theory is circling the internet, and if proven true, could mean that this terrible ending is actually pretty incredible, and we were all just too blind to see it.

The “proof” comes in the form of a collection of internet postings and a new definitive “Loose Change” style video which aims to show how we’ve all missed the point. I’ll post it for you below, and though it clocks in at twenty minutes, if you’re a fan, it’s definitely a must watch.

I won’t summarize it in full (obvious spoilers ahoy), but the general idea is that in reality, the entire ending sequence is occurring in your character’s mind. The bad guys of the series, the Reapers, are attempting to “indoctrinate” Commander Shepard, a process they use to seduce powerful figures into helping their cause, and the final choice you make is either you accepting or resisting their influence.

The details are small at first, but they start to snowball, and by the end, the theory doesn’t sound so crazy anymore. It explains many aspects of the game that are otherwise out of place. Shepard’s visions of a lost child, the fact that he winds up with an injury he supposedly inflicted on another, the two second sequence that shows him stirring in earthbound rubble at the end. And a fact not mentioned in the video, that your last save in the game allows you replay the alleged dream sequence if you made the “wrong” choice from the exact moment reality supposedly ends.

And I did in fact make the “wrong” choice according to this, and I was disturbed when I realized that two of the three options, controlling the Reapers and combining organic and synthetic life, were also the aims of the indoctrinated Illusive Man and Saren respectively. Uh oh.

What is not made clear in this theory, or the video, is what the scenes mean AFTER the decision is made. As discussed before, they all more or less show variants of the same scene, giving little or unclear resolution to Shepard’s actions. This is the sequence that upset people the most, and the video explains it away as “hopeful visions,” but that’s not exactly satisfying either.

It is also entirely plausible that the ending is not metaphorical at all. That everything happened the way we thought it did and Bioware really did drop the ball. But further evidence against this straightforward view is that Bioware has not screwed up the story up until this point, and the “indoctrination theory” being true would prove they’re smarter than all of us.

But the fact is, true or not, the indoctrination theory is a win for Bioware. Even if it’s not what they intended, enough pieces are there where if they came out and said it was true, people would believe them. They now have a way out, as they can now appropriate the theory as something they planned all along, even if that wasn’t the case.

If it really was what they had in mind, it would be a master storytelling move viewed from one angle, as it’s a huge mind-bending twist for players that was too high concept for almost everyone who played. But when you stop and consider it, the decision to handle such a twist the way they did would remain creatively atrocious. I’ve recently speculated that the “sameness” of the endings is really a plot to sell more DLC, as if there were three different, complete endings, that wouldn’t be in the cards. The fact is, even if the last sequence is the indoctrination process, it’s still a gut punch to fans to cut out a true ending, and sell it later as DLC, which I now believe has been their intention all along.

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I would love to believe in this indoctrination theory, but the defensive tone coming from BioWare’s Mass Effect twitter feed, encapsulated in this tweet, https://twitter.com/#!/masseffect/status/182188923588579329, discourages that. (For those who can’t click through at work, the tweet said, “@mirta0001 We are getting plenty of feedback from people who love the ending and consider the thought of changing it an affront, as well.”)

I’d love to see the numbers for and against. And I don’t think that sort of statement indicates that this theory couldn’t be true. I don’t know if they will “change” the ending, but they almost certainly will add to it, and this theory allows for that better than a literal ending.

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I thought the ending was fantastic. A few things could have used a little clarification (like the ship crash), but other than that it was great. But people like me, who are mostly satisfied, are not going to sign petitions and slam forums.

i think a more comprehensive poll on the issue of the ending may be occuring on gamefaqs homepage where it does look very close between the people who want the ending to stay the same and those who want a change. i think the defining issue is of the debate about the ending is whether mass effect 3 could be called art meaning that the ending is what bioware chooses it to be, or is it more of a consumer product where they should be held accountable for any promises they made before the release. personally i’m of the school that video games are a form of art, but as soon as you start making promises of “16 different endings” and such the game starts becoming a consumer product for which the developer is responsible for fulfilling those promises. i’m just musing here, but i assume that if bioware hadn’t made all these promises such as to how the endings will be completely different based on your choices throughout the series and had just set a release date,etc but made no promises then some of the fuel for the pro-change argument would not exist.

I have never seen such an uneducated and illiterate community of fans than the ones who disagree with the mass effect ending. It is a true testament to the lack of intelligence in the community. Have they ever read books? Have they ever red mythology? Religion? Any great hero, any great story, only becomes great if the main character has to make a sacrifice, Shepard has to die in order to become a even and the entire story has elements of Irish/Scottish mythos. Gaming society has gone down hill, the world needs to be spoon fed some action pack ending. The point of all Mass Effect 3 is not an action thrill ride, but to differentiate the character from Halo 3, COD 3, or any other penis endured fantasy. Shepard is like Achilles, taken down by his own defects, and like Hercules who will inevitable be taken down by the unlikely. Bioware has done what no other game has, touched our hearts with a story that is ageless. That is why there are so many underlying themes that reference the bible, the Koran, the Torah, the principles of Buddhism…. it is a masterpiece in an age of just shooters. The very size of the complaints is disgusting. It represents the uneducated, the uninspired, Mass effect 3 is not a game to promote the continuation of gaming. It is a movie, a definitive end to a trilogy. It is art and in this day and age of gaming, it forces other games to become art as well, instead of the dribble that we are used to…. I play shooters, I’ve even gone to MLG gaming tournaments. I love Tekken, I love the classic games like Panzer Dragoon, I love Racing, League of Legends, Yugioh, Fight Night, the Tales series, Armored Core, Halo, etc…. I own 3 Xboxes, one for every room and gamer tag…. the point is I am a gamer by nature, I can log 72 hours without end, without break, but even I understand that to change this game because I cannot even UNDERSTAND the ending….that would make me a child, pathetic by nature. YOu guys should be ashamed.

*Errors on previous comment* I have never seen such an uneducated and illiterate community of fans than the ones who disagree with the mass effect ending. It is a true testament to the lack of intelligence in the community. Have they ever read books? Have they ever read mythology? Religion? Any great hero, any great story, only becomes great if the main character has to make a sacrifice that can’t be undone, Shepard has to die in order to become a legend and the entire story has elements of Irish/Scottish mythos. Keeping true to that it has to follow the conventions of all mythology. Gaming society has gone down hill, the world needs to be spoon fed some action pack ending. The point of all Mass Effect is not an action thrill ride, but to differentiate the character from Halo, COD, or any other penis induced fantasy. Shepard is like Achilles, taken down by his own defects, and like Hercules who will inevitable be taken down by the unlikely, something he has been fighting all his life. Bioware has done what no other game has, touched our hearts with a story that is ageless. That is why there are so many underlying themes that reference the bible, the Koran, the Torah, the principles of Buddhism…. it is a masterpiece in an age of just shooters. Literature is dead to the uneducated and believe me Mass Effect is Literature. The very size of the complaints is disgusting. It represents the uneducated, the uninspired, Mass effect 3 is not a game to promote the continuation of gaming. It is a movie, a definitive end to a trilogy. It is art and in this day and age of gaming, it forces other games to become art as well, instead of the dribble that we are used to…. I play shooters, I’ve even gone to MLG gaming tournaments. I love Tekken, I love the classic games like Panzer Dragoon, I love Racing, League of Legends, Yugioh, Fight Night, the Tales series, Armored Core, Halo, etc…. I own 3 Xboxes, one for every room and gamer tag…. the point is I am a gamer by nature, I can log 72 hours without end, without break, but even I understand that to change this game because I cannot even UNDERSTAND the ending….that would make me a child, pathetic by nature. You guys should be ashamed. Go out and exercise!

You’re making a big assumption there, buddy. I don’t think an illiterate and uneducated community would be able to coordinate 400 cupcakes or 80k donation as a way of protest. Perhaps I see for what it really is:

Video games are consumer products first and foremost before art because with out money, there can be no art (What feeds the artists?).

Bioware advertise how the game is and simply didn’t deliver. Some of the players, the consumers, picked up on this and basically realized they just got ripped off. I applaud this because it’s about damn time game developers/publishers need to get off their high horses and realized they can’t say one thing and do something else; that they can be held accountable for their bad business practices! Video game consumers need to rise and tell developers/publishers that enough is enough. Have you heard what the latest xbox and playstation is capable of? They’re making it impossible to buy/sell/play used games! Where does this madness ends? ME3 ending is just exposing one of the bad things of the gaming industry and there’s more to come.

By the way, Achilles is the epiphany of of penis induced fantasy. I prefer y’know, real life heroes, like George Washington the American war hero — who not only became legendary but stayed ALIVE. So touche, my friend, touche.

So you’re calling them a bunch of liars and accusing them of false advertising. Some so-called fan you are. If you really were a fan of Mass Effect (which I highly doubt), you’d stand by Bioware and be praising them for what they did.

Instead, you’re standing there like a petulant child and sounding like you’re trying to organize an “occupy Bioware” or “occupy the gaming industry”, to demand better games and put an end to the tyranny of those dictators (I mean, publishers).

You’re making the rest of us actual gamers look bad and people like you are the ones putting the stain in the gaming industry, not Bioware or EA.

People like you are crusaders. You’ve made a lot of enemies in the last year, and a lot of people don’t like the crusaders.

As for some of their claims of say choices affecting the ending. Put it this way. Pick the control or synthesis option, all your hard work and all those alliances and choices goes down the toilet. Everyone gets harvested by the Reapers (as said in the codex, if people actually played the game, as well as in the first 5 minutes of the game that they’re here to harvest everyone. Or even during the Sovereign conversation in the first game they were going to harvest everyone).

Remember, they said before the game launched if you rush through the game you won’t get a good ending. However, if you take your time and pay attention to what’s going on, the ending will be great, and it was. At least for me.

Bioware successfully indoctrinated their own customers by using Harbinger (disguised as the kid at the end who “makes no sense” according to some people, which can be explained by actually playing the game or reading the codex) to pick the control or synthesis options and sway them into letting the Reapers live and “sleep with the eneny”.

Pick the destroy option with at least 3100 EMS (4000 EMS pre-EC), and you keep all those choices intact. I’d say, not only do you have three choices affect the ending, you have every single choice that you’ve ever made throughout the course of three games affect the ending.

No, Bioware won’t hold your hand and spoon feed you how every single choice affected the ending. It’s just implied that you lost the war so to speak, if you pick the other two options besides destroy. You don’t need to “see” it in order to understand it.

They don’t need to have someone like EDI run over after Shepard wakes up to know the kid was lying, as he said you would die even though you woke up anyways. Same with EDI, kid says EDI would die, but they don’t need to “show” her running over and rescuing you.

Just like Rusty was saying, gamers lack intelligence these days and would probably have preferred a mindless spoon-fed ending to the ending that they got.

Such suggestions were an action-packed conventional victory over the Reapers using our own level of technology to beat a race of machines that are many millions of years more advanced than us. I can’t even begin to describe how ludicrous that sounds. Followed by retiring on a beach and having little blue children or settling down with Tali, building her a house and living happily ever after.

This is what the gamers wanted. Well aside the ending that doesn’t “make sense”, which it does make sense if they paid attention during the game. They just had to “think” about it, which they didn’t want to do.

Thank you for this comment. Early on many were complaining about the tone of gamers who were demanding more from Bioware. Now, not only is the tone problematic but many in the industry are crying out for artistic freedom and see any change from Bioware as a bad precedent. I find it ‘sad’ that developers don’t want to have to discuss or defend their ideas to the fans. Perhaps its even insulting.

While this is a very important discussion to have, game artists and developers who keep their fans at arms length are missing a tremendous opportunity. To them I say: you produce art for mass-consumption and your work is funded by your fans; this does in a sense restrict your artistic freedom, but it also gives you an opportunity to create something WITH your fans.

Engaged fans won’t hold artists and developers back… if anything they will keep them sharp and at the top of their game. Something to consider at the very least.

I absolutely believe that games and interactive media are art. However, as someone who wanted to be a professional writer, I don’t think it can’t be changed. I used to give stories and papers to my friends and family saying, “Here, what do you think of this?” And, more than once, ripped it back from a professor and said, “Something is missing.”

If I thought they couldn’t be changed, I would have written the rough draft, proof read and turned it in. I never would tweaked. I never would have scrapped entire sections. I never would have added new ones. I certainly never would have made it out of class with a 4.0.

I am going to have to disagree with you on that one. Unlike a paper or story, Mass Effect followed a story line that went in multiple directions based on the player’s decision throughout the 1st and 2nd game. Players actually interacted with the story, versus you being the only true decider of your character’s fate. Meaning no two player’s decision would be the same, nor could an ending be made that would be able to give clousure to all who played the game and every decision that was made. I think with the DLC, it will stick to giving closure to the player, based on their trend in decision making. But even with that, it’ll only expand on the ending currently in the game, but provide a little more of an explination.

I think your wrong when you day ‘Art that fails to communicate it’s intent is bad art.’

the magic of art is it’s different interpretations, based in your life experience and emotions, you can get a different meaning from a paiting that I would do.

http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/10/1012/57XW000Z/posters/picasso-pablo-the-acrobat-c-1930.jpg – This is a Pablo Picasso paiting, and when i can see a person in love, you can see a person in pain.

I do not think you should beleave the theory or not! …I just don’t agree with your last sentence! …I hope that you understand my point :)

I’m sure some people understood the message behind the ending. If some people got the message, then it hasn’t failed. However, people seem to think that the message must be understood by all those who play the game. Popularity is catering to everyone. Bioware didn’t want to dumb down their ending for the masses to understand. Some people will understand the message, others won’t.

The intention may have been very subtle that most people didn’t pick up on. Not Bioware’s problem though. They even stated the answers were in the game, people just had to look.

People seem to think Bioware’s fanbase is the only people who bought this game. How wrong they are.

https://twitter.com/JessicaMerizan/status/304672159190630400

Making games for fans doesn’t make money. Catering to the masses makes money. Purpose of a business is to maximize profit.

Sounds like this statement they said clearly states, their fans are not the majority of the people who bought the game. They are not the majority of what makes Bioware profitable. Thus, they haven’t been listening to you. Made you an EC ending to silence you, after that, they cut you loose and worked on their own stuff (other DLC, not ending related, because you know, maybe they want to tell their own stories instead of trying to appease their fans).

Second, we as gamers are consumers. Not producers. We can provide suggestions, but we are not the authors of this game, regardless of what Bioware told people. That was just PR fluff, and people believed it.

Fan feedback is one thing, but shaping your games around fan feedback and essentially giving them fan control over how they make their games is a high road to disaster. Take the feedback with a grain of salt, but that’s it.

They didn’t need to explain it to some people, as they were smart enough to figure it out. Perhaps the issue here is Bioware’s fanbase, rather than the game itself.

After wasting a year on making DLC to clarify things, they still don’t understand it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWvZFVKxPpU&t=0m25s

Seriously though, we live in an “entertain me society” where people expect you to entertain them. A lot of people didn’t want to fill in the blanks and use logic, they expected Bioware to do it all for them:

So I take it if you go to a movie, that you expect the director to explain everything for you? If you find a particular scene confusing they have to sit there and make sure everyone in the theater knows what’s going on. Don’t think so.

“If you anger and insult a portion of your audience, then you didn’t really understand them.”

People were warned before hand, so if they advised you that the ending would make people mad, but they bought the game anyways, then you shouldn’t have bought the game and listened to their advice. Not their problem.

“Let Bioware seize upon this as a “what we intended to do all along!” thing.”

I cancelled my SWTOR account and its $15 to BioWare every month, because I don’t want to pay a company further for substandard products, and if this is how they treated me over Mass Effect, I can’t trust that similar failures won’t come from their other products.

This will also more than balance the cost of me buying the DLC ending if/when it comes out. I encourage others to do the same.

Very good article ! Thank you ! I agree with pretty much everything ! IF there’s been a “true” ending getting prepared or already done, it should have been on the disc. It’s a real shame to consider everybody has an internet access. (and to be able to pay to watch the 5 last minutes of a movie would be considered abusive, why not for a game?)

Honestly, I do believe that the ending we got has been BioWare’s plan for the ending since the leak back in November. However, I feel as though they dropped the ball, not in giving us this “ending,” but by not including the REAL ending in the original game. If anything, they should have pushed the game back another month or so to get it finished. I’m positive fans would have understood. And to charge fans for the real ending would be a slap in the face to all the fans out there and would make absolutely no sense at this time. I kind of get the impression that they might wind up making this free DLC, or even a huge patch to the original game, so that it is mandatory, and then add it to newer copies of the game as it is printed.

They severally screwed this up. And with them having just announced the beginnings of work on Dragon Age III, another of their HUGE titles in the pipeline, I feel like they might have to just give it to us…

The Indoctrination theory just makes far too much sense for it not to be true. And I knew they were going to make more Mass Effect games all along. They hinted at that when they said that this one would be Shepard’s last game, but not necessarily the last Mass Effect game.

Thank you for another wonderful article, Forbes has really done a wonderful job with this.

When it comes to the indoc theory I don’t personally feel it was Bioware/EA’s plan and i certainly don’t think they’re happy about this backlash at all. It all feels to rushed and last minute. Much has been made of the final hours app for iPad and the ‘lots of speculation from everyone’ note.

I do think it’s telling that many wanting a new ending also support the indoc theory. While I can’t say for certain I think many of us feel like “Okay Bioware, you screwed up, look we’re giving you a way out, take it, please.” We want it to be true, we just don’t believe it was the intention.

As for paying for the ending through DLC. Well, that’s going to net them some heavy losses in the long run, myself included.

I’m fine with the concept of paid DLC but don’t market this as the conclusion, have me buy the CE for $80 then hold the ending hostage for more money.

Good article, Mr. Tassi. I agree, either way this pans out, neither makes Bioware look ‘good’.

I disagree that Dr. M’s comments should be seen as positive, however. The post read to me like standard stall tactics used in public relations campaigns. Notice how he continues to use the many top ratings from ‘professional’ review sources, while at the same time ignoring/downplaying the large amount of negative consumer reviews by claiming they come from a small, passionate number of fans.

I feel badly for the number of consumers who are obviously unhappy with this product, though from what I understand retailers like Amazon, and even EA itself through Origin, are currently offering full refunds for the game. So perhaps it will be them, and sellers like them, that end up reaping the reward of consumer confidence and loyalty when all of the dust finally settles.

I have to say, from reading what I’ve read across Forbes and other outlets, I’m not impressed with Bioware’s handling of this fiasco and I can only imagine dedicated consumers of their products much be even less so.

Good article, Mr. Tassi. I agree, either way this pans out, neither makes Bioware look ‘good’.

I disagree that Dr. M’s comments should be seen as positive, however. The post read to me like standard stall tactics used in public relations campaigns. Notice how he continues to use the many top ratings from ‘professional’ review sources, while at the same time ignoring/downplaying the large amount of negative consumer reviews by claiming they come from a small, passionate number of fans.

I feel badly for the number of consumers who are obviously unhappy with this product, though from what I understand retailers like Amazon, and even EA itself through Origin, are currently offering full refunds for the game. So perhaps it will be them, and sellers like them, that end up reaping the reward of consumer confidence and loyalty when all of the dust finally settles.

I have to say, from reading what I’ve read across Forbes and other outlets, I’m not impressed with Bioware’s handling of this fiasco and I can only imagine dedicated consumers of their products must be even less so.

At this point, I’m so frustrated with this mess that I just don’t even want to give BioWare the satisfaction of knowing that I’m trying to critcally analyze it – but here goes. The ending was boring and stupid. The game itself was a ton of fun; like watching The Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, and Star Wars is a ton of fun. That doesn’t make it bad. Or not worthy of critcal acclaim but that also doesn’t make it more than what it is. To borrow a line from Jim Rossignol over at RPS, “Mass Effect is a huge slab of pop culture.”

Mass Effect’s presentation was never subtle. The themes were simple and presented plainly to the player. The game attempted to illicit emotions from you in the most direct way. For instance, ‘Guy dies. Dramatic piano music. Cue dramatic dialogue’ now, you can cry. Then it’s over and you’re on your merry way again. Where was the character change? Where was Shepard’s crack under the pressure? The change that comes with the loss of SEVERAL good friends? Huh? Where was that? The game did nothing to creep into my heart or my mind like reading an excellent sci-fi book does. Or even if you want to pick a game, the severely under-rated “LA NOIRE” – watch as Cole Phelps just begins to fall to pieces. The scenes between him and his mistress were heartbreaking – the motionscan tech. that was used did help.

What I’m trying to say is that if BioWare made the ending purposefully confusing and open-ended as you suggest – and something that Roy Muzyka appears to now be asserting – well…that would just be the worst kind of d-baggery. Because as it looks now, they did that so they could run around and smugly say “Well, it’s this way because it’s Art”.

Did you play all three games? Did you play through more than once and make different decisions? Dude, lots of things go down differently. Most people think that the game is absolutely exceptional until the last 10 minutes. Sounds like you played through ME3 one time, and thus don’t know what you’ve missed.

The more statements that come from Bioware, the more I’m convinced this is a scam to sell DLC. I recently bought the Final Hours app and everything in it suggests that Casey Hudson is an incredible storyteller who would take one look at a plan for an ending like this and throw the writers out of his office. This whole thing has EAs sticky, moneygrubbing fingerprints all over it.

My complaint isnt so much with the ending itself (although it was unsatisfying), its their IP so they can end it however they choose. What irritates me is that they promised this huge chain of possible endings depending on the major choices you made in the previous games and this one, and all we get is different colored explosions and recycled renders.

Well ok – I actually got it (mostly) on my first play through. From the moment Shepard is smoked by Harbringer’s War of the World heat ray thing, it’s made VERY obvious that we are not functioning in the usual manner. It is deliberately like the dream sequences and right away I was thinking “Uh, is Shep REALLY doing this? Did he really just take out a Maurader in two shots with a pistol? Where the hell are my powers?” I did not think “indoctrination” until the confrontation in the control room – the oil black stuff on the edges on the screen gave it away. Once I thought that, the rest more or less fell into place. The final thing that made me realize that what I was seeing was not in fact “real” was when Anderson’s gun shot wound appeared on Shepard, only to apparently vanish once Shep is confronted by the star child. I also choose the destroy option on the basis that it seemed obvious the child was trying to trick me into picking the other to options, going as far as making the control option paragon blue. There are of course several unanswered questions: if what we saw was not real, and Shep never actually went up to the Citadel, then is the war ongoing? Or did what we see somehow actually result in the destruction of the reapers? Is the entire end sequence the final hallucination in Shep’s mind as he breaks free from indoctrination? What is the deal with the Normandy etc? All that said, despite the unanswered questions, I think ALOT of players picked up on what was going on and much of the fanboy rage is the result of not being spoon fed a typical action movie ending. Clearly Bioware has done this on purpose, and what DLC is coming, is going to fill in some (although I bet not all) of the gaps in what we played through. Frankly, I thought it was brilliant.

Grant, the points you make do certainly give credence to the indoctrination theory. The point once again though is that if the indoc theory is true, it should have been in the game. When I play a video game, I’m not exactly sitting there analyzing it like it was a Charles Dickens novel (speaking of him, he changed the ending to Great Expectations b/c people didn’t like it). If the theory was true, this would have made a great twist ending. Play the whole sequence, fade to black, you think it’s all over . . . and then bam, Andersen’s shouting in your face trying to break the indoctrination, cue final boss battle with Harbinger. People would have had their minds blown and we would be hailing Bioware as the creators of the greatest video game ever. Assuming the theory is true, parsing out the ending as DLC was a foolish move. Pauls’ Fight Club analogy encapsulates this perfectly. If you’re going to pull a fast one on your audience, let them in on it, don’t hold the real ending hostage behind a paywall.

I’m not suggesting it has been handled as well as it could have been by Bioware. From a marketing point of view its genius, because, all the complaining aside, (you know the insipid: “You’ve ruined Mass Effect”, “I will never buy a bioware game again.” it’s all nonsense and largely untrue) you know we will buy the DLC.

All I am saying is the ending is not anywhere near as bad or confusing as the rabid fanboys suggest it is. There is just a block of gamers who want nothing more than a basic shoot ‘em up ending where the hero rides off into the sunset. That is dull as hell. Flat. Uninteresting. I agree that there should have been some kind of post-indoctrination stuff (if one chooses the right ending and Shep lives) But at the same time, I am not annoyed or raging against Bioware for what, it seems to me, is a marketing decision…one they (or EA) made because, surprise surprise, it will work.

No — it really is just that bad. I’m no rabid fanboy. I love bittersweet and tragic narratives. I don’t mind heroic hollywood endings with swelling orchestral scores, either. It’s all about emotional resonance, tonal and thematic consistency and quality storytelling.

And what we got was a confused mess, a heap of exposition which contradicts the internal *physics* of the setting, much less its thematic and narrative foundations, before logical disconnects and overarching weirdness just shattered (painfully) any sense for immersion.

You seem to take for granted that Shep was indoctrinated and that this was all planned out as the definitive storyline and commercial decision to continue the game through DLC. That’s not clear at all. According to “Final Hours” this really is the end, and the indoctrination plot was REMOVED from the game because the mechanics were not working, causing a major rewrite and the removal of the final boss.

Which is why there is this odd lack of actual gameplay for the last 30 minutes of the game. You win with dialogue.

I will buy any DLC which takes the story forward, but it sounds like you’re just missing the point brother.

They only took out the part of where you had no control for the indoctrination part because it was proving to be a very complex situation with the fact that it was conflicting with the dialogue. It doesn’t mean that they ruled out Indoctrination as a whole. It just means that you have control of Shepard during the Indoctrination scene.

While I believe the “Indoctrination” theory is reaching, it’s a far better ending to a video game, movie, or book than I’ve ever experienced, with the exception of maybe Pan’s Labryinth. BioWare should jump on this chance. Even if this doesn’t pan out, it’s still my ending of choice. I’m going to make up my own little epilogue. Should it be true, BioWare, already my favorite developer, would have gone down as the biggest example of breaking the fourth wall in history, making NGC title, “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” look like a joke.

**Problem** The Prothean VI senses Kai-Leng as indoctrinated, but not Shepard.

We don’t know that. the VI isn’t specific. In any case, whats not clear is when Shep becomes indoctrinated. IT could be that his long time exposure to Reaper tech has only worked slowly and is therefore not detectable by the VI, but doesn’t really indoctrinate him until the end of the game.

It’s possible that Bioware/EA wanted to rush ME3 out to finish a strong 1st quarter, therefore leaving less time to include the ending or multiple endings that would result from a game of thousands of decisions. But why they wouldn’t announce that there is still more to come in this case is beyond me.

I agree. Forbes has done a great job, the other gaming sites have been slagging of customers; and that is what worries me. A typical PR tactic is to never attack the fans directly, but indirectly by having other media outlets do it. And they have been absolutely abusive. Forbes has kept it professional and balanced.

When this all blows over, I wonder whether the media will look at itself and not the extreme positions taking by some of the gaming sites, including their dubious games ratings of 90% vs 37% by customers.

I actually would buy any DLC if the indoctrination theory is true… it’s just too brilliant if indeed intended. And ALL the evidence points towards this, the kid not interacting with anybody and the kid saying “you have thought about destroying US” so Shepard can destroy this so called “catalyst”! The Catalyst is THE REAPERS!

The evidence is overwhelming that Bioware has continued to press forward on the most brilliant gaming experience ever, and this isn’t me being a fanboy, I thought ME 1,2 and 3 were brilliant… but this… this is REVOLUTIONARY

A, Bioware messed up the endings because they ran out of time & the money grabbing rEApers AKA EA were breathing down there necks

OR

B, They cut the ending because the money grabbing rEApers wanted to make the most of the money Mass Effect 3 would make with the final installment of Shepards story

But it didn’t matter either way because the more I thought about both options the more angry I became because A, ment that Bioware didn’t have the nearve to stand up to EA & say “It’s just not ready we need a few more weeks to work on it” B, ment the same but from a money prospective. Either option make’s me sad & angry that Bioware have given in to the rEApers indoctrination, and because of this I won’t care if they make another Mass Effect game. Mass Effect 3 is the last Bioware game I will ever buy because it’s clear they are no longer the same company I loved for giving me games like Knight’s of the Old Republic, Baldur’s gate ect.

I also wish to express my appologys to you, I know that when all this buisness with the ending’s started I allowed my emotions to get the better of me. Although I still think it was more than a little harsh to refer to us angry fans as Entitled brats & such it was also wrong of me to get so angry with you. So I am sorry for that, I want to thank you as well for finally coming around & seeing things from are prospective.

I don’t know what to think about the Indoctrination Theory. The existence of the theory itself either demonstrates that the writers intended ending of Mass Effect 3 was executed so poorly that it (at first) went over the heads of many of the people who experienced it. Or it demonstrates a community that as a reaction to the ending is collectively trying to deny that that ending even happened. The Indoctrination Theory does manage though to serve up a “saving face” option to the writers.

I’m a little surprised though that the Mass Effect team managed to give a Bioware Social Network member “screwoffreg” his two “worst case endings” for ME3 in the actual ending and that as a team they yet maintain the position that they were “blindsided” by fan reaction to their endings.

That B.S.N. user wrote (over two years ago) “Exactly. There are two endings I wouldn’t like for ME 3. One being a random GOD LIKE force that saves the Galaxy or another being that to defeat the Reapers, everyone has to become a primitivst and destroy the Relays, Citadel, etc. Both would make me pretty unhappy as those endings have been done to death.” BSN Thread Source Link: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/105/index/970146/1

well I’m pretty sure this quote fits here but correct me if I am wrong.

Roger Ebert-“If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didn’t.”

The whole indoc. Theory makes since but if that’s what the were trying for they could have made it a bit more clear because as the video shows it seems a lot of this stuff you really had to stop and look for other wise you just dismiss it as an after thought. but thx for sharing!

The reason the “indoctrination theory” works is because it was part of the previous “original” story for ME3. Unfortunately due to a main writer leaving and a script leak the story was redone in a last minute ditch during November when the voice overs were done. This has led to the rushed “ending”.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that when the script leak happened last year Bioware decided to rewrite a perfectly good story in turn keeping all old assets in place leading to the now so called “theory” which used to be fact. In result this is how the “reapers vs humans = so that synthetics don’t kill humans comes from”.

Originally the story revolved around the reapers harvesting civilisations to obtain “dna” resources so that a “collective of the best civilisations within a reaper” can save the galaxy from the Dark Matter expansion. The reapers were simply a product of desperation by an ancient race.

I would like to give you a list of references to this with the most important being Drew Karpyshyn (ex Bioware writter) who was pretty much responsible for Kotor onwards whilst also being the lead for ME1 & 2 (not involved in ME3). http://drewkarpyshyn.com/c/?p=381

The leak of the script. http://www.oxm.co.uk/39736/revealed-the-mass-effect-3-ending-bioware-canned-before-release/

“The Final hours of ME3 dev” app shows that Bioware was developing the story with Shepard being in full indoctrination during the end sequence.

The intension of the ending feels like a desperate move to change something to allow a Mass Effect MMO set in the future… maybe EAs influence?!

The Real Question is was that really the Real Original Ending or just a last minute Mash up to get the game out as the real one had been leaked/discredited. As The current ending simply does not fit the rest of the series, game, plots, or anything else.

It seems to me that there’s another aspect of all this that hasn’t gotten attention yet (at least, I haven’t seen any mention of it in any of the posts and articles I’ve read). And this could just be coincidence, or a result of some other fracas that happened on the Bioware forum boards, but on march 2nd, they updated their rules and code of conduct to include the following:

Effective immediately there is a zero tolerance policy on any form of abuse towards staff, moderators or other Community members.

Anyone posting a personal attack on staff, moderators or other Community members will, at the sole discretion of staff or moderators, be banned from the BioWare Social Network without notice and is no longer welcomed.

Most likely, this arose as the result of something that happened on the boards earlier, but it seems a bit convenient that it was posted 4 days before the release of Mass Effect 3. Perhaps they were expecting this blowback they’ve gotten? That they knew they were releasing substandard material, or withholding the true ending? Or, probably most likely, they knew the rage that would ensue at the announcement of of day 1 DLC? Either way, it seems they went into this with the knowledge that they were going to need to cover their respective backsides, and that mindset never spells success for ANY product. Just my 2 cents.

Very good article Mr. Tassi. I agree whole heartedly that this is Biowares best opportunity to make something truly spectacular even if it wasn’t their original intention. As it stands, leaving this game’s ending with a deus ex machina resolution completely ruins any viability of it being considered art if, in the future, scholars do recognize the video game medium as such.

Had bioware ever been shown to be able to pull anything like this off? No. I like the Indoctrination theory, but it’s all speculation, and you better believe the Bioware is going to steal it, and say all shift eyed ‘ya…..we planned for this the whole time….(holy crap that’s a brilliant plot, why did we not come up with that and instead base the ending around that Gas station slushie machine!)’

Many fans already thought of and provided evidence for the Dream/Indoctrination theory. This did not go over our heads.

As you point out, if that was their intent, when Shepard woke up in rubble, the game should have continued. If they had planned to have us experience content in DLC to show what truly happened after Shepard fought off the indoctrination, that will a worse PR nightmare for Bioware. It may even lend more credence to the current outstanding FTC complaint about “false advertising.” I bought a game that promised to deliver an ending to Shepard’s story and the Reaper war. If I am now asked to pay more money to see that happen, yes, I will feel ripped off now and become one of the angry masses.

I wish Bioware had simply used the approach they have in their past excellent games like Dragon Age Origins and Jade Empire. Provide an Epilogue that tells you the outcome of some of your major decisions and gives you updates on your key characters. Personally, I did not want a happy ending. I just wanted an ending that made sense and truly was the conclusion for my Shepard.

Very very true. I mean, I’m a big Half-Life fan. I’m in the middle (or hopefully close to the end) of Half-Life 2. Since I just picked up a PS3 recently, I was happy to see that “Episodes 1 and 2″ are on PS3, and I was curious to see if the infamous “Episode 3″ is either finished, released, or almost done.

Turns out, Episode 3 is either still in the works, cancelled or indefinitely suspended. Pretty sad.

As I’ve been doing lately, though, I decided to read the spoilers to see what occurs in Eps1 and 2, because honestly, by the time I get to play them, I won’t have remembered any of the spoilers. And honestly, the big mystery people wanted answered about Half-Life was who the G-Man was, and NEITHER of those two episodes seem to give nearly enough explanation on that at all. So unless Episode 3 really goes deep into it, those additional episodes will be really disappointing, and the quality of the series will falter as a result. Every day that third episode goes unreleased, they’re losing Half-Life fans.

My point is…Mass Effect 3 is the conclusion to Shepard’s journey, and they advertised it that way to an extent. Maybe it’s open-ended, but lots of great stories are.

Did he NEED to die in order for it to be “the end of his journey?” What if he got married and had two kids and went to some far away planet made up of deserted islands and lived happily ever after, to never fly in the Normandy ever again, would that have to happen to be the end of his journey? If he was truly indoctrinated, and ended up living through whatever got him buried in rubble, and he ended up being a cog in the wheel of the Reapers or Collectors or whoever, wouldn’t that mark the end of his journey? If he fought it off, maybe he retired…that would be the end of his journey.

Maybe it wasn’t the end of Shepard, so much as it was the end of what ailed him. Look at the ending to Harry Potter. I SO thought Harry was going to perish in order to take out Voldemort, and instead, he marries, has children, and he sends them off to Hogwarts (at least, in the movie that’s what happened). HIS journey ended, while his life continues.

I want to play ME3 pretty badly now, if for no other reason than to experience this for myself and enjoy it as a way to spit in the face of the detractors. Can’t be half as bad as people make it sound. :-)

I have wrote many blog’s the past couple weeks about Bioware and ME3. I’m going to list a few things that are really doing major harm to Bioware right now, and at this point the damage may not be able to be repaired.

1. Over the last few years the quality of Bioware games starting with DA2 has been lack luster to say the least, and have been plagued with issues. DAO origins was in my mind the last great game they made, and they canceled the promised 2 years of DLC for that game to rush out a half finished, poor non-refined combat system, small world, reused tweaked dungeon maps from there star wars game over and over DA2 game, and finally the tragic endings that were poorly done for ME3, amongst other issues.

2. Bioware’s PR campaign of denial, doubletalk, and damage control without taking personal responsibility as a company for the poor quality or issue with their product is inexcusable. Not only are they trying to play PR games to sweep all incidents under the rug like they did with the DAO cancel of 2 years of DLC, the issues and weakness in quality of DA2, but now the lackluster poorly written cryptic endings of ME3.

Gaming websites and magazines that were once respectable are either in bed with Bioware via advertising, or direct involvement with the game, like IGN who has the conflict of interest of both. In past years because of big companies like EA, and Bioware spending big dollars for advertising in magazines and on their websites, it has become clear that the reviews these sites and magazines do are BIAS. They are more critical of less popular games from smaller companies and less critical of Games like DA2, and ME3. All you have to do is compare their ratings to that of user ratings, there is a wide disconnect.

3. If the first 2 were not bad enough, now we enter the realm of false advertising. Me3 was promised in interviews, and article pre-release reviews to have a wider and diverse set of endings, certain choices were to have strong reactive effect within the game, and most important, all your choices throughout the series were not only to have an effect throughout the game, but your choices would have a direct effect on your ending. Well at the point of the ending your choices were cast aside, and you were taken from a interactive open ended game to a totally linear game.

4. The 1st day launch DLC was another hit to Bioware’s image if it was just a minor DLC, most may have looked past it. But A Prothean sqaudmate, with full back story, mission, and very important history and lore that swirls within the inner fiber of Mass Effect Universe in which the game is based, is tacky to say the least. Many looked at it as nothing but Greed on Bioware’s part, and considering how much he adds to the game and back story it is. Unless you picked up the CE which I did, you needed to spend an extra $10 to get this important DLC. Sorry Bioware but when a business does this to their customers, it comes across as nickel and diming us for corporate greed.

5. Every game developer for the most part today, offer pre-order bonuses, and everyone expected that ME3 would have some pre-bonuses, but my God everything had a pre-order bonus. Mass Effect art book *bonus*, Game *bonus*, ME3 toys get a case and get *DLC bonus*, and last but not least buy a full set up of PC hardware customized with ME3 logo from Razer and get more exclusive *bonus DLC*, and don’t worry about getting all those extra codes that stack on the multiplayer weapons and make them more powerful, so buy now.

I’m sorry pre-order for a game is one thing, maybe even the art book or some magazine codes I could see, but that level of greed is disgusting. I feel sorry for the people that bought all that stuff and spent over $900 to do it, only to get to the end of their favorite series to have a shocked look on their face saying WTF.

Any one of these negatives could be devastating to a company or a business, but Bioware has all 5, although there will be loyal to the death fans of Bioware, all businesses have them no matter how far they fall. If Bioware does not come forward and soon to give answers, and take responsibility, and promise to correct the problems, which would go a long way to build those bridges back with their customers. I don’t see Bioware keeping a good portion of their customers, and I don’t see Bioware continuing to be a leader in the Game industry.

Indoctrination would be a cop-out on Bioware’s part, especially when you consider that Sheppard was able to break the indoctrination control of the illusive man and shoot him, or force him to shoot himself using paragon dialogue option. Adding pieces of information without actually changing the ending is not going to satisfy fans.

SPOILERS…………..

The only thing I see that would work is by removing the Starchild altogether, and have Harbinger Reanimate the illusive man’s body like Sovereign did with Saren in ME1, and have Harbinger do battle with Sheppard 1on1 inside the Citadel. Most players of ME3 expected that Harbinger was going to play a very important part in the story, and fully expected a final showdown of sorts between Sheppard and Harbinger.

The rest of how the ending would happen from there Bioware can work their magic. I do feel though if they went that route they could incorporate peoples choices into at least 6 possible ending outcomes going from very good-worst. Also they really need to separate multiplayer from having influence on single player. Despite what they say there is no way to get the ending were Sheppard draws his one breath before credits without playing multiplayer.

If that is too much for them, then they at least to lower the assets required to get that, since even if you make all the right decisions, and gather all war assets you can’t get that ending unless playing multiplayer, and they also promised that it would be possible to get all the endings without playing multiplayer.

I thought the end to Seinfeld and the Sopranos were both perfect, maybe I’ll like the end to Mass effect 3. The best endings IMHO are the endings the make you wonder what happened and make you rethink everything you assumed about the series.

Ever since I completed the game the first (and only so far) time I have considered the indoctrination theory, I pieced some of the evidence together myself but ventured onto the internet to learn of the theory and consider plausible, and ingenious if Bioware’s intentional ploy. And also of course, greedy and outrageous. That being said I hated the endings so much that I hoped beyond hope that the indoctrination theory was true, Bioware’s Twitter and Facebook did indeed make comments that definitely insinuated they had something up their sleeve, and as time went by more and more pieces of the puzzle began to be solved, making the theory more and more compelling.

However, this entire time my thoughts have been clouded with doubt, could Bioware really pull this off? Even if they could, would they really try? Did they really create the most ingenious ending in gaming history just for more money? How could they be sure that the fans would be able to figure this out, and for that matter not realise that it is all for more money? Questions, so many questions left for us at the end of this game. Madness, I tell you! Madness! The uncanny merit the indoctrination theory contains continues to baffle me, but I find myself walking a thin line between belief and hopelessness. But one thing I agree with and have thought ever since I learned of the theory is that even if Bioware did not intend this, they should have snatched it up from the start and just pretended that they intend it. It is the perfect solution, and the only way to fix this.

It is the only way out, I have known it from the beginning and Bioware must know it too. Whether this doubt lingers once the DLC is released and they lie and say it was their original intent I will be inclined to believe it, because I want to. That being said if they do release a DLC where the indoctrination theory proves correct they still have to make a new ending, and it better be a good one, I am not looking forward to facing that disappointment all over again. Let it be known that no game has made me care so much about the outcome before – ever- . So that is an achievement on Bioware’s part, and whether this was all just a scam and a ploy for more money or artistic genious I would buy the DLC and be sated.

Paul, great article. You and I are thinking along similar lines. Either the theory isn’t true and they just goofed, but can use the theory to fix their mistakes. Or, the theory was true but they goofed by not including it in game. Like you said, if they’d included it in game I think we all would have just had our minds blown and would be hailing this as the greatest video game ever. Bioware/EA seems to have become entirely too wedded to selling DLC, notice the end game message which for all intents and purposes asks you to go and buy some! Now with Capcom putting “DLC” on their disc for Street Fighter X Tekken, you’re really just seeing companies trying to fleece us. Personally, while I think it’s great that people want to respect the creators of these games, ultimately we need to realize that these companies will look out for themselves and will fleece us if we let them. As fans we need to hold these companies accountable so I certainly hope any ending fix DLC is free and that Bioware/EA (throw in Capcom too) change their entire DLC strategy because the road they’re taking is no good. None of us have any problem with them making money, we do have a problem with being treated like cash cows.

I still think that all this is some kind of reverse April Fool’s hoax. It seems to me that Bioware is collecting data about how many have made which decision at the putative “ending” and will present us a statistic at April 1st how many where tricked into indoktrination and how many havn’t – In the same breath they will either send out an unlock key to all installments, or put out a DLC so that everybody get’s to see the true endings.

The putative “ending”, as it is for now, you cant bring as the end of a trilogy/series/saga, although i think this part it self is made very well, it simply lacks closure to all the torments Shepard had to go through – A simple goodbye to his squad mates just isn’t the kind of closure to an end of the saga of Shepard, especially not the kind of ending that was promised prior to release.

### POSSIBLE SPOILER ###

At the end of the day, all the War Assets Shepard collected throughout the game fade into a stupid statistik – You neither get to see the Rachni Queen engage a Reaper in full rage with all it’s offsprings and ripping it appart, nor do you get to se how Turians, Krogans, Salarians, Geth and Asari fighting side by side with Humans against the reaper forces on Earth. The only thing you get to see while you are on Earth are humans fighting their way towards the Reaper and running to the conduit + your eventually 2 Alien squad mates. And also in the Cutscene at the end of you only see human soldiers cheering the destruction of the Reapers: TEH FUCK!? Were are all these War Assets you gathered? Wrex simply standing in the Base watching down on a ridiculous small “platoon” of krogan spoldiers – That’s all!? Why can’t I choose this crazy bastard to fight alongside me!? *anger*

### END SPOILER ###

This kind of “ending” might work if this would be a single game where the player does not has the time to get to know all the chars and forge a emotional bond with them, but this is a f**king trilogy and it was supposed to get a deserved Ending and not some Cliffhanger, no A B C choice at the end where the only mayor diference between them is the color coding. It was promised we get closure, but at the end we are left with more questions than answers. -.-

That’s why I think, this can only be the above mentioned reverse April Fool’s hoax. Bioware stated in a twitter message, that they want to let the people to play the “end” and if enough people did so there will be more info about it. But, if this means, I have to download a DLC (that would probably be hundreds of MB in size; What’s with all the people who don’t have broadband internet!?) to see the real ending, this better be for free. *more anger rises*

I agree completely. For me it was all downhill after the Cerberus base. I was expecting a strategy element, the ability to assign those assests to missions or establish the characters as commanders. All the build up for the “war” was utterly pointless!

Yes, I do wonder the same thing. Is ‘Take Back Mass Effect 3′ simply a PR stunt by Bioware. If they knew customers were going to get angry, was the whole this intentional; and if so how will customers react to getting used?

I wonder what your thoughts are on two more points: what if the DLC was free? Would that change your mind about it? (Not that I’m saying it should, I really just wonder how you feel about it) Second, what about people that don’t have Internet connectivity in their homes? I know we all think of that as pretty much nonexistant, but I work with three guys who each have a current-gen console and no Internet connection. I think that if the plan was to have ending DLC all along, that would be a real slap in the face to the unconnected. One other thing I was pondering: remember when Bioshock 2 had DLC, but it was already on the disc (you just had to buy a small file that unlocked it)? What if the real ending of ME3 is on the disc, and has been all along? If the Indoctrination Theory were really true, that would make things kinda interesting.

As you point out Bioware mentions the possibility for “full games”, this is nothing new. They have said before that Mass Effect 3 was going to be the end of the Shepard saga, but not the end of the Mass Effect universe. With that in mind I view the three endings with similar outcomes as setting the ground work for future games. If the endings had been wildly different from each-other games couldn’t be set in the future and the detailed nature of the game limits games set in the past. If the indoctrination theory is correct that would mean the full games would be someone else taking up the fight against the reapers, while the ending of the game allows a setting of every species in the galaxy forced to co-exist on an Earth in ruins or within the Sol system without the mass relays. I guess the truth lies in whether people want to continue fighting the reapers or develop a new struggle.

I’m glad to see an outlet like Forbes pick up on this…I’ve been saying this since last week when I beat the game. A part of me thinks that this group of creative minds, which not only built three excellent games, but a whole entire mythos of every alien race, every power, every planet could not have designed such a cop-out ending with so many plot holes and questions left unanswered…

My original thought was that there would be a finale DLC whenever the game was 100% released globally so everyone could reach the end at the same time instead of staggered where other markets could have it spoiled before they even had a chance to play it….even if that’s the case, Bioware has utterly failed in viral marketing and teasing and makes it more and more look like they had an idea which they thought was good and ended up backfiring….this is coming from the same group who virally launhced early editions of the game into the high parts of the atmosphere on weather balloons…

I think a lot of fans are giving them the benefit of a doubt and to see their explanation at their discussion panel at the PAX east in April. I think there we will get a better idea of where they are going to run with this.

Even if the indoctrination theory is a complete fluke…the fans have literally given Bioware an out to salvage the series and be made out to be brilliant minds…maybe we are giving them too much credit but if it’s a way to save face and to keep future sales of your products in tact, what’s the hurt of another month or two of giving the consumer what they want?

It’s also troubling to me that a part of me feels like Bioware intentionally left out the true ending in order to charge people for it later, knowing that they have a dedicated and loyal fan base who will be willing to shill out extra $ for resolution. To me, that’s just taking advantage of people and is just low, and if it is the case, I’m not trusting Bioware on any more games if they are just going to release incomplete ones.

As I’ve said, I understand that future DLC’s create employment for those developers, but so does repeat business…hopefully it’s all an elaborate ruse and not the faceplant it’s being made out to be.

I too want to believe in ‘Indoctrination Theory.’ Even if Bioware did not intend it, I think that it would be wise for them to create their add-on as if they did. Frankly I think it is the only way to maintain the integrity of the game. If they simply cut out the junk and replace it, it will still feel empty and disappointing.

“We will not support or respond to destructive commentary,” means that they will eventually ignore the people.

They know that gamers will continue to buy their product as long as the mass effect and bioware name is on the cover. The people will fail and they will get their way. That is what has become of our society, we as a people have become weak, we have allowed others in a higher position to regulate the disposition of our conduct openly. They are now comfortably corrupt, because we have allowed them to become so. Before, no institution nor agency would dare to openly insult the population, they at least, maintained an ounce of secrecy, and you…the people could convince yourself then to accept their lie, however, now they are spiting in the face of the people. Will you allow it, allow this corruption to spread like a virus through the levels of business until it too bleeds into our government? Will you sit down and continue along this path until your grandchildren would one day ask of you the legend of the free foundation that this country was built upon? Or will you choose to walk against these treasonous, bloodsucking, ravenous vampires and take a stand.

We can no longer hide my friends, we can no longer look away…they are like children who have gotten used to the luxuries and freedom of this fast paced media frenzy…they have diluted our sense of what is important with deceptive fragments of what they call “News” and have now taken advantage of our inability to maintain public interest – they can do as they please because we will all be more interested in the dog who saved his owners life on CHxxx at 7:00. Does anyone remember the Mass Effect 2 complaint about the words being unreadable on non-HD compatible television sets? What did they eventually do after their initial false pretenses to qualm the anger of buyers? Populate false rumors of a DLC for allowing the game to be more compatible with traditional television sets. And soon after the fires were calmed they released a statement, inconspicuously, that “the game was made for HDTV sets, and that was the quality that they decided to adhere to,” because they felt that most American households should own a HD set. This is the same deal, the company is basically saying “Hey guys, we’ll listen to you…but if your rude to us you can fucking forget it because this is a sympathy gesture” and you the people reply back, “Just shut up and take my money.”

Either live with your knowledge now and accept the corruption of these bloodsucking capitalists or take a stand for the rights that were guaranteed to your person the moment you were conceived and drive these heathen back into their cages.

Destructive comments would be similar to asking them to rewrite the ending when they claim it doesn’t make sense or whatever. Most of those I’ve read wanted some kind of happy ending or even just something that was familiar to them. For example, a traditional Hollywood style ending.

If some managed to figure out why it doesn’t make sense, then it’s not a software issue, but rather an issue with the user.

Thing is though, a lot of people thought that the last 5 minutes was the ending of the game. However, according to what was said before the game launched they said “as Mass Effect 3 is the end” of the trilogy…

So if you take Mass Effect 3 (the whole game) as the ending instead of the last 5 minutes, then most of these claims of “ending looks the same” or everyone gets the same exact ending can be refuted.